LOVE vs HATE side stories: Three Fun Shots
by Owennumber1fan
Summary: Three one-shot stories, set after the second one, focusing on assorted characters. Twilight bonds with Gwen and teaches her how to teleport, Spike hangs out with Blukic & Driba, and Spidey & Pinkie Pie fight crime, and the fourth wall.
1. Magical Girls

This is the first of a series of side stories that I'm writing. They're set in the same continuity of the main stories, usually taking place after or during them. These stories are ideas I though were interesting to tell, but were too small to constitute a story of their own. I hope you will like them.

* * *

At the underground Plumber base in Bellwood, Spike the dragon was sleeping in the little bed in the room he shared with his friend, Twilight Sparkle.

The little dragon loved to sleep, and was doing so, but it was proving difficult; whenever he closed his eyes, he could still see small traces of light. Unable to drift off, the dragon got up to find out what was going on.

"Twilight, is that you?" he asked, noticing Twilight sitting in front of something. The light that was bothering him was shining from it, but he couldn't make out what it was.

"Oh, hi Spike," Twilight said, not really looking at him "I'm surprised you're up."

"I could say the same about you."

"Oh, I just couldn't sleep!" Twilight said "this computer, I believe it's called, is amazing! It has this thing called 'the Internet'; it's like having a whole library compressed into one tiny little box. I don't know how, but I'm going to try and set up one of these when we get back to Equestria."

"That's nice, I guess," a tired Spike said.

"It took me a while to figure out how to use this thing; it's not exactly built for hooves," Twilight explained "but, once I figured out I could just tap on these keys with my snout and use my magic to move this 'mouse', which is a rather odd name, since it looks nothing like one, I got the hang of it."

"Glad to hear it, but maybe you could stop for a while, because your light is keeping…"

"I've been researching the history of this world, and it's fascinating," Twilight interrupted "one thing I've noticed is that they have quite a few wars. There's been a Revolutionary war, a Civil war, which is a deceptive name, as it was anything but, 2 World Wars, and conflicts in some places called Korea & Vietnam. Also, this region known as 'the Middle East,' seems to break out in war all the time. I wonder why these humans just can't learn to embrace friendship, like we have in Equestria."

"We still fight there too," Spike pointed out.

"Also, none of these countries are ruled by princesses," Twilight pointed out "there is a royal family in this place called 'England,' and they're really important, but apparently, they have no actual ruling power. Can you imagine that?"

"That does seem kind of weird."

"The most common form of government is called 'democracy,' where the people vote to elect a leader from several candidates," Twilight explained "I guess I can see that; it ensures that everypony gets a vote and they can choose who they like."

"Can I go back to…?" Spike asked.

"I was also intrigued by something called 'communism,' in which the leaders control the businesses & means of production. Could you imagine if we had that in Equestria? I doubt Rarity or Applejack would be willing to give up control of their businesses to Princess Celestia, for any reason."

"They sure wouldn't," Spike replied "but seriously Twilight, maybe you should get some sleep."

"I don't have time to sleep!" Twilight told him "I haven't even scratched the surface of all this history. There's so much more I want to learn, and I'm not going to sleep until I….zzzzzzz" the princess said before she zonked out, her head falling on the keyboard.

Spike smiled as he watched his tired friend, then went over to her bed and got her blanket and pulled it over her.

"Good night Twilight," he said, before returning to bed.

* * *

It was several hours before Twilight finally woke up.

"Ugh, what happened?" she asked, then noticed the computer screen in front of her, the search tab littered with a number of odd symbols she had triggered when she faceplanted unto the keyboard."Oh man, did I fall asleep while using the computer? What time is it?!"

The alicorn princess quickly got to her hooves and rushed over to her bed checking the alarm clock she had been given.

"Oh no, I slept longer than I thought!" she exclaimed "I need to get ready!"

Rushing over to the drawer by her bed, she used her magic to lift out several pieces of paper. "How could you let me oversleep like that, Spike? Now I'm minutes behind schedule, and we have to move quickly to make up the time."

There was no response. "Spike, did you hear what I said?" Twilight asked, turning around to look at her dragon assistant. She then discovered, to her surprise, that he was gone.

"Spike? Spike where are you? This isn't funny!" she said angrily "you going missing is not on the schedule!"

Still no response.

"Where could he be? I just saw him earlier today," Twilight said "I'd better go find him and make sure he's all right."

Twilight headed for the door to her room, but as she was about to leave, she heard a conversation from outside.

"Ben, I really don't have time for this, I have trigonometry homework to do."

"See, that's your problem; you're always studying, even on your off time," Ben told the mystery person "just meet her for a few seconds; I really think you'll like her."

"Fine."

The door then was flung open and Twilight saw Ben and the person he was talking to. She was a girl about his age, wearing a light blue shirt with a type of cat face on it, plaid skirt, long white socks and black glasses. Her orange hair was cut short and she had freckles about her face.

"Hey Twilight, hope you're not too busy," Ben said.

"Well, I was going off to look for Spike; he appears to have disappeared," she replied.

"Great," Ben said, ignoring her "anyway, I'd like you to meet my cousin Gwen; she's in town for her college break."

"Pleased to meet you," Twilight said "Ben mentioned you when we first met, I believe."

"Hi," Gwen replied.

"That's it? I figured you'd be more excited," Ben told her "I remember how you like ponies."

"When I was six; I liked ponies when I was six," Gwen reminded him "I grew out of them, just like you eventually grew out of Sumo… oh wait."

"Look, just talk with her for a few minutes okay?" Ben said "then afterwards, I'll introduce to this turtle that sounds like Kevin; it'll blow your mind," he added, before leaving the two alone.

Pony & girl then stood there awkwardly, neither one exactly sure what to say.

"Look, I'm sure you're very fun and all, but this was really my stupid cousin's idea," Gwen said "I actually have trigonometry homework to do."

"Oh, well then don't let me stop you," Twilight said "I know how important homework can be."

"You do?"

"Oh yes; when I was Princess Celestia's student I loved to study," Twilight told her "and even though I'm a princess myself now, I still make time to learn as much as I can."

"You know, maybe I can stay a bit longer," Gwen told her.

And so the two began to talk; as they did, Twilight learned something about the girl that surprised her greatly.

"But that's impossible!" the princess said "I've never heard of humans having magic before. As far as I know, nopony outside of Equestria has it."

"Well I guess I'm the exception then," Gwen said, showing off some of her magic to an amazed Twilight.

Naturally, this opened another line of conversation between the two, and they continued to share stories. Twilight learned that, in addition to their magic and love of studying, both she and Gwen once had white haired rivals who had since learned the error of their ways.

The two continued to talk into the day, sharing stories of their various adventures and relations. It was later then that Gwen commented on something she remembered Twilight mentioning to her.

"That teleportation of yours sure is a handy power," Gwen said "I'd like to learn that; it'd make it way easier for me to get places, so I wouldn't have to keep relying on Kevin to drive me."

"Perhaps I could teach it to you," Twilight said "I always hoped to pass my magic knowledge on to another, although I always figured it would be a pony."

"If you think you can," Gwen said "how did you learn it?"

"Well, I saw Nightmare Moon do it once," Twilight admitted "of course, that's not an option for you, but I think I can figure something out."

* * *

So, later Gwen sat in Twilight's room as the alicorn looked on.

"Think of teleporting this way; you take the magic inside you and you focus it on yourself, then choose to transport where you want to go," Twilight explained "now I want you to clear your mind and focus. Just concentrate, concentrate, concentrate."

"I can't concentrate with you saying 'concentrate' all the time."

"Sorry," Twilight replied, slightly embarrassed "now, focus your magic, you can do it."

Gwen sighed and tried her best to let her inner magic flow through her. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and looked at Twilight "I don't think I can do it."

"It's alright, it was hard for me the first time."

"Really?"

"Well, no, but I was trying to make you feel better," Twilight replied "but if you have the magic in you, I know you can do it. Just think of a place to go and let your magic do the rest."

"Okay," Gwen said, closing her eyes again. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but eventually, a purple aura covered the teen.

"I think it's working."

"Don't break your concentration," Twilight told her "remember, focus on the location."

Gwen nodded and continued, as the purple aura around her grew bigger; the girl began to strain from the effort she was exerting in trying to focus her magic around herself. Finally, Twilight watched in amazement as Gwen disappeared in a flash of light.

"Gwen?" Twilight asked "oh dear, I hope I didn't cause her to explode."

But thankfully, a few minutes later, the girl reappeared, although her hair was mussed.

"I did it, I managed to teleport!" Gwen said "I mean, it was only for a few seconds, but still."

"Hurray!" Twilight exclaimed, before Gwen grabbed her by the hooves and both danced around joyfully.

"That felt a little weird," Gwen told her.

"Yes, it was hard on me at first too," Twilight replied "but if you keep practicing, eventually it'll become second nature to you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Gwen said, before she looked down at her watch "oh man, is it that late already?! I still have my homework to do, and I probably should go see that Kevin turtle Ben was talking about. Still, this was fun; I'm glad I met you Twilight Sparkle."

"As am I," Twilight said "I hope we can hang out again another time; perhaps I can meet this Kevin you speak of."

"Um, I really doubt he'd be into that," Gwen told her "but I do have a few days of break left, so we can probably get together; and maybe you can teach me to better master teleportation."

"I'll have to check my schedule, but I think I can work you in," Twilight told her.

"Great, well see you again," Gwen said, waving goodbye before she left the room.

"Bye," Twilight waved a hoof as the girl left. "Well, since today is over, I might as well get started on the schedule for tomorrow," Twilight said "but first, I have one more thing to take care of."

So saying, she used her magic to float the Friendship Journal over to her and began to write:

_ These humans continue to amaze me; every time I think I have them figured out, they find a new way to surprise me. Today, I befriended a girl named Gwen, and found we had a lot in common, including magic, which I wasn't aware even existed here. I also taught her the power of teleportation; I'm sure Princess Celestia would be so proud of me. It just goes to show that sometimes, friendship can span even different worlds, and just because you're a different species, doesn't mean you can't become good friends. _

As Twilight put the journal away and began work on her schedule, she heard the door open; she turned around and recognized the figure who entered.

"There you are Spike," Twilight said "you missed all the fun; I met Ben's cousin Gwen, and the two of us really hit it off. She knows magic, and I offered to teach her teleportation."

"Sounds like you two had a good day," Spike replied "sorry I wasn't around to help you, but I was hanging out with these two guys that help run the place; they're kind of like the alien versions of me."

"Oh, really?" Twilight asked "how about telling me about it while we work on the schedule for tomorrow."

"You got it!" Spike said, taking a quill and some paper "so anyway…"

* * *

If you want to know what Spike was up to during Gwen & Twilight's little escapade, you'll have to wait for the next story.


	2. Dragon vs Aliens

After Twilight fell asleep at the keyboard, Spike took the opportunity to go back to sleep himself. He managed to easily fall back to sleep and enjoyed his rest.

"Oh man, that was great," he said, when he woke up several hours later "I'm ready to hit the day."

Spike got out of bed and noticed Twilight was still sleeping, her head pressed against the keyboard, which was causing weird symbols to appear on the screen.

"Hey Twilight, wake up, it's time to start the day," he told her, giving her a slight tussle.

"So much history…" a sleepy Twilight replied, barely reacting to him.

"I guess I'll let her get some sleep," Spike said "she could use it anyway."

So saying, the dragon left the pony princess to nap and left the room, eager to explore his new surroundings.

"You know, we've been here a while now, and yet I've never actually bothered to really look around this place," he commented "maybe I never had the time before."

"We can help you with that," someone said.

Spike turned to the source and saw a pair of aliens, not much bigger than him, standing nearby.

"Oh hey, who are you guys?" he asked.

"I am Driba, and this my compatriot Blukic," the larger of the two said "we are a vital part of the operations that go on around here."

"That's right," Blukic replied in a Southern-like accent.

"Tell me, who are you?"

"I'm Spike, number one assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle," the little dragon replied "I don't mean to brag, but I'm invaluable to her; yup, Twilight couldn't get anything done without me."

"Sounds like you are not much different than we are," Driba replied "perhaps we could show you around the area. And we'd like to get to know you better; we've never seen a dragon before."

"I guess we can do that, I've got nothing else to do until Twilight wakes up," Spike replied.

"Excellent, come with us," Driba instructed, and the three headed off.

* * *

"Here is our communication center, from which we can establish contact with any civilization in the galaxy."

"Well, provided they have a transmitter," Blukic added.

"Obviously I didn't need to say that, it was implied," Driba retorted.

"That's really cool," Spike admitted "I can kinda do the same thing with my dragon breath. Uh, anybody got a piece of paper or something?"

Blukic pulled a blank piece of paper from his uniform and handed it to the dragon.

"All right, prepare to be amazed," Spike said, breathing fire on the paper, causing it to disappear.

"That's all? You set fire to it and it disappears?" an unimpressed Driba asked "we have access to devices that can send messages to planets that are lightyears away."

"Oh yeah? Well, my messages arrive instantly at their destination."

"So do ours."

"I have a question; if you use fire to send messages, what's to keep them from burning up before they get where they're going?" Blukic asked.

Spike shrugged his shoulders "I dunno, it's never been a problem before."

"Let's just move on," Driba replied.

* * *

"This is our lab, where we invent all the devices that help the base function," Driba explained.

"Wow, Twilight would be so jealous that she's missing out on this" Spike commented "she loves all that science stuff."

"Then we must invite your Twilight to come visit here sometime," Driba told him "I am very interested in studying her, learning more about her."

"Mainly why she has wings and can do magic," Blukic added.

"She's always been able to do magic, even when she was a filly," Spike said "or at least, that what she always tells me."

"Hey you two," Lucy Mann's voice interrupted the conversation "my blaster isn't working properly, can you take a look at it?"

"How lucky Spike, you will now have a chance to see us in our element," Driba told him "this should be as easy as a Kinceleran running a marathon."

The two Galvans took the blaster and inspected it thoroughly.

"Looks like it might need a replacement power cell," Driba said "we should have one around here somewhere."

Blukic rummaged through a pile of equipment lying on the floor, before finally emerging with something the size of a small battery "yup, found it."

Driba removed the back part of the blaster and inserted the cartridge that Blukic had handed him. "There you go, it should work fine now" he said, handing it back to Lucy.

To see if it did, Lucy fired the blaster at the wall, leaving a small hole.

"Whoops, well at least I know it works right," she said "thanks again."

"Wow, that was amazing!" Spike said excitedly "you guys sure get to do some cool stuff. All I mostly do is help Twilight with her schedules or restock books or clean, or boring junk like that."

"Well, since we have you around, perhaps you could help us with something," Driba suggested.

"Sure, no problem, happy to help," Spike said.

"But first we should probably fix the hole in our wall," Driba continued.

"Probably," Blukic added.

* * *

So, after patching a hole, the Galvans hooked a helmet covered with wires to Spike and observed him from behind a console.

"Okay, forget what I said earlier," Spike said "I didn't agree to this."

"Technically, you did," Driba explained "and don't worry, we're not doing anything too severe. We simply wish to observe your biology and learn how you function."

"Okay, but this isn't going to hurt, is it?" a worried Spike wondered.

"It shouldn't," Blukic assured him.

"Hmm, his genetic makeup is like none I've ever seen before," Driba commented, looking at the console readings.

"Yup, he's pretty unique," Blukic added.

"Yeah, some ponies tell me that," Spike said proudly.

"Mr. Spike, I was wondering if you'd let us test your durability," Driba said, with Spike responding with a pause "that means testing the strength of your scales and their resistance to various stimuli."

"Oh, I guess that'd be okay; I've got pretty thick scales."

"Very well then," Driba said, pushing a button on the console. Suddenly, an array of lasers popped up, all aiming at Spike.

"Whoa, what's going on?" a nervous Spike asked "I thought you said I wouldn't feel a thing!"

"If your scales are as strong as you say, then you shouldn't," Blukic replied, before Driba pressed a button. The lasers all fired at Spike, who put his arms over his head to shield himself, but the lasers had little effect against him.

"Subject boasts resistance to hard laser fire," Driba noted "bring on the next test."

"Okay, that's it, I'm out of here!" Spike said angrily "I didn't agree to become a target for you guys!"

"Wait, we still want to test your resistance to fire," Driba said.

"Let me save you the time; it doesn't bother me," Spike told him.

"I think we oughta try extreme cold too," Blukic suggested.

"Now hold on, I should get a say in what I'm…" Spike added, before a large freeze ray emerged and fired at him, leaving him trapped in ice.

"Subject has no resistance towards cold," Driba noted "good to know for future use."

* * *

"And so it went," Spike continued "those guys put me through every test they could think of, but my scales could take whatever they threw at me! Although I am gonna be sore for a while," he added, rubbing his backside.

"It sounds like you had quite the adventure," Twilight commented.

"Yeah, and you know, despite all the tests those guys did, I liked hanging out with them," Spike replied "it was nice to meet somebody who like me, is small, but invaluable to their boss. Speaking of which, sorry about not being here earlier."

"Actually, things worked out well with you gone," Twilight told him "I met a wonderful new friend who I have much in common with. But that's a story for another day; now come on, we have a lot of work to do."

"What kind of work?"

"We have to get to work on tomorrow's schedule," Twilight told him "since I didn't get anything done today, we need to work overtime to fit everything in."

"Ready to go Twilight!" Spike said excitedly.

"Before we begin, would you like to document what you learned today in the journal?" Twilight asked him.

"Not really."


End file.
